The Supernatural in Eighteenth-Century Musical Theater

E-book $7.00 to $59.00About E-booksISBN: 9780226078113
Published
August 2009

Drawing on hundreds of operas, singspiels, ballets, and plays with supernatural themes, Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests argues that the tension between fantasy and Enlightenment-era rationality shaped some of the most important works of eighteenth-century musical theater and profoundly influenced how audiences and critics responded to them.

David J. Buch reveals that despite—and perhaps even because of—their fundamental irrationality, fantastic and exotic themes acquired extraordinary force and popularity during the period, pervading theatrical works with music in the French, German, and Italian mainstream. Considering prominent compositions by Gluck, Rameau, and Haydn, as well as many seminal contributions by lesser-known artists, Buch locates the origins of these magical elements in such historical sources as ancient mythology, European fairy tales, the Arabian Nights, and the occult. He concludes with a brilliant excavation of the supernatural roots of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, building a new foundation for our understanding of the magical themes that proliferated in Mozart’s wake.

“This book brings to the fore, for the first time, a significant aspect of eighteenth-century opera, providing a new means of understanding elements of the marvelous, the supernatural, and the magical that operate across genres and national boundaries. The reach of David Buch’s investigation—over such a broad time span and including such vast repertories—is outstanding. Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests is an astonishing achievement.”

Peter Branscombe, University of St Andrews

“I know of no previous study that can be compared with Magic Flutes and Enchanted Forests, yet its topic is an important one that, one now realizes, was waiting for the suitable author to tackle it. David Buch is very well qualified to be that author. This is a very ambitious, wide-ranging, and impressive book.”

Donald R. Boomgaarden | Opera Today

"[Buch strives] to refute what he feels are the most common false assumptions about eighteenth-century opera, effectively arguing against those who have maintained that works with magical themes . . . are inherently less important than serious compositions. . . . His most valuable contribution, however, is undoubtedly the detailed and comprehensive discussion of the origins of the fantastic in eighteenth-century operas and stage works."

Times Higher Education Supplement

"While numerous theatrical works include the supernatural . . . there have been surprisingly few musical studies devoted to the topic. . . . Buch's is an essential and groundbreaking study."